UPDATED: Utah Environmental Activist Punished in Prison for Email

Lawyers for an environmental activist convicted of disrupting a federal oil-and-gas auction say the man has been put into isolation at a federal prison because of an unidentified congressman's complaint. The federal bureau of prisons refuses to confirm or deny that Tim DeChristopher is being punished.

According to Pat Shea, DeChristopher's lawyer, prison officials at the California prison where the activist is being held acknowledged that after a congressman complained about an email DeChristopher sent to his supporters, they opened an investigation and moved him to a special section of the prison.

Tim DeChristopher is serving two years at a federal prison in Herlong, California, for bidding on drilling leases near Utah's National Parks in an effort to stop the sale to developers.

UPDATE: Tim DeChristopher's lawyers say he has been released from an isolation unit and placed back into a minimum security camp. He had been placed in confinement earlier for using the word "threaten" in an email to his supporters.